Use of a wear-resistant steel component especially as the plow of a construction machine

ABSTRACT

A hot-formed and press-hardened wear-resistant steel component with a hardness of between 500 and 700 HB is constructed for use in construction machines, agricultural machines, mining machines, in supply, transport, clearing or maintenance machines or appliances or in household, garden, DIY or handicraft machines or appliances which are subjected to high levels of abrasive wear

The present invention relates to the use of a wear resistant steel component.

Various wear resistant steels are available on the market in the state-of-the-art. The wear resistant steels are used in machines where high abrasive wear is expected. The predominant causes for this high abrasive wear are impact stress wear and friction wear. As a result of hard objects which come into contact with the wear resistant machine components, surface segments are continuously removed on the steels resulting in such a wear that the machine components have to be exchanged as soon as they have exceeded a critical wear level.

In order to counteract this abrasive-related wear, possibilities are known from the state-of-the-art to harden machine components after their production. These possibilities for hardening include for example depositing a wear resistant surface coating. Initially this enables the use of the wear resistant machine component with only little wear. However, when the surface coating itself is used up by abrasive wear, the strength of the machine component located there beneath is also compromised by stronger wear.

A further possibility known from the state-of-the-art is the use of a wear resistant steel. However, configuring this wear resistant steel as complex machine component is possible only to a limited degree. A forming or a post processing for example by a material-removing method can only be carried out to a limited degree due to the high hardness. A post processing is also relatively cost intensive.

Object of the present invention is therefore to propose a possibility to improve the service life of components of machines which are exposed to a high abrasive wear and to operate these components or machines more cost effectively.

The aforementioned object is solved by using a hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component according to one of the patent claims 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The use according to the invention of a hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 Hardness Brinell (HB) as steel component in construction machines, can particularly advantageously be realized as excavator blade, concrete mixer blade, screw conveyor blade or as transport blade for conveyor systems. The invention also includes applications in construction machines, which are exposed to a high abrasive wear.

The use according to the invention also provides for use of a hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB as steel component in agricultural machines. Particularly preferably a wear resistant steel component is used on a plough or a cutting device of harvesting machines. In the case of use on a plough it is particularly advantageous when the wear resistant steel component is used as share, share tip or share knife, share blade, guiding plate, share foot, holder for a share tip, chisel, furrow breaker, plough foot or plough sole, sole wedge, sole protector, sole block or sole log, coulter, breast board or moldboard or tailpiece, breast board edge or moldboard edge, insert plate, strip or slatted board or stripper or on a cutting device of a harvesting machine as knife or blade.

In a further preferred application of a hot formed and press hardened, wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB, the steel component is used in mining machines, preferably in conveyor elements crushing elements or sorting plants.

In another preferred application of a hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB, the wear resistant steel component is used in supply-, transport-, clearing- or maintenance machines or devices preferably in snow ploughs or as share and/or scraper bar in a snow plow or in a rotary snow plough.

In another preferred application of a hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB, the wear resistant steel component is used in home-, garden-, home improvement-, or handicraft machines or devices which are exposed to a high abrasive wear.

In the mentioned construction machines, agricultural machines, mining machines or supply-, transport-, clearing-, or maintenance machines or devices, the wear resistant steel component can be in particular configured as sliding plate or used as sliding plate. In the case of a harvesting machine the wear resistant steel component can further in particular be configured as crop lifters or used as crop lifter.

With regard to the hardness of the hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component it is noted that it is conceivable and within the scope of the invention that the wear resistant steel component even has a hardness which is greater than or equal to 700 HB.

Use according to the invention of hot formed and press hardened components also offers the possibility to produce a highly complex wear resistant steel component and to use the steel component in a field in which only the application possibilities of the state-of-the-art mentioned above were available. In particular a resulting advantage is that the wear resistant steel components can be manufactured as hot formed and press hardened steel components with only few method steps.

In the case of the excavator blade the excavator blade according to the invention thus is made in its entirety of wear resistant steel without weak spots being created by joining seams or the like or respectively weak spots are treated by post processing such that excavator blades used according to the invention have a long service life and are resistant against abrasive wear. The same applies to concrete mixers, conveyor screws or other blades in conveyor systems or similar construction machines. A significant advantage of the use according to the invention is that the production costs and the operating costs of the hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel components are significantly reduced because replacement intervals are increased or respectively the service life increased.

With the use according to the invention it is possible to use components with complex component geometries. Due to the hot forming and press hardening process it is in particular possible to produce wear resistant steel components with high production accuracy, which due to the hot forming and press hardening process have a wear resistant material structure in their entirety. In particular steel plates with a thickness of between 1 and 30 mm are processed so that the wear resistant steel component can be produced and used. A material removal by abrasive wear can be effectively counteracted due to the entire wear resistant material structure of the produced steel component because not only a wear resistant surface is present but the steel component is configured wear resistant in its entirety. This has the advantage that hot formed and press hardened steel components can be used for a particularly long time which in turn reduces the cost of operation of machines with the steels according to the invention.

The use according to the invention is further characterized in that the steel components are at least partially post-processed for example by a partial heat treatment. The heat treatment offers the possibility to post-process the used wear resistant steel component without significantly adversely affecting the wear resistant hardness. The heat treatment can be performed in multiple stages or steps. A particularly preferred heat treatment occurs for example in that the steel component is heated to a heating temperature in the range between 500 and 900 degrees, the heating temperature is held for a holding time and it is cooled subsequently from the heating temperature in at least one phase.

An advantage of the post-processing according to the invention is that material properties can be reliably produced in a targeted manner in the desired regions that are needed for a use according to the invention of the wear resistant steel component. The starting temperature of the heating is always smaller than the martensite start temperature, preferably the start temperature is below 200 degrees Celsius.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the steel component used according to the invention, a steel alloy is used to produce the steel component which contains the following alloy elements respectively in weight percent:

 0.2 to 0.4% Carbon (C)  0.3 to 0.8% Silicone (Si)  1.0 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.02% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 2% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 0.5% Chromium (Cr) max. 2% Nickel (Ni)  0.1 to 1% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.001 to 0.01% Boron (B)  0.01 to 1% Tungsten (W) max. 0.05% Nitrogen (N) or

 0.35 to 0.55% Carbon (C)  0.1 to 2.5% Silicone (Si)  0.3 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.05% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.01% Sulfur (S) max 0.08% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.5% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 2.0% Chromium (Cr) max. 3.0% Nickel (Ni) max. 1.0% Molybdenum (Mo) max. 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.001 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.01 to 0.08% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.02% Nitrogen (N) max. 0.2% Titanium (Ti) or

 0.40 to 0.44% Carbon (C)   0.1 to 0.5% Silicone (Si)   0.5 to 1.2% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.005% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.2% Copper (Cu)   0.3 to 0.8% Chromium (Cr)   1.0 to 2.5% Nickel (Ni)   0.2 to 0.6% Molybdenum (Mo)   0.5 to 2.0 Cobalt (Co) 0.0015 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.02 to 0.05% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.015% Nitrogen (N)  0.01 to 0.05% Titanium (Ti) or

 0.42 to 0.45% Carbon (C)  0.30 to 0.40% Silicone (Si)  0.80 to 0.90% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.012% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.001% Sulfur (S) 0.020 to 0.050% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.10% Copper (Cu)  0.50 to 0.60% Chromium (Cr)  2.00 to 2.20% Nickel (Ni)  0.45 to 0.59% Molybdenum (Mo)  0.90 to 1.10 Cobalt (Co) 0.002 to 0.004% Boron (B) max. 0.008% Nitrogen (N) 0.015 to 0.025% Titanium (Ti) max. 0.030% Tin (Sn)

Due to the alloy components used according to the invention, the steel alloy is suited due to its formability in the soft state and the cooling behavior, for a cold pre-forming, where appropriate, and for a hot forming together with a hardening in the tool, and at the same time achieves the hardness desired for a wear resistant composition of the material structure.

In a further preferred embodiment the steel component used according to the invention is produced with bending angles of more than 5 degrees.

This enables in particular to use complex geometries of wear resistant steel components. To date, only steel components with dull bending angles, i.e., bending angles of significantly below 5 degrees, are known from the state of the art, because due to their high hardness dictated by the required wear resistance, the steel components can only be formed to a limited degree. The steels used according to the invention offer the possibility to use very complex geometries so that bending angles of more than 5 degrees, in particular of more than 10 or 15 degrees, are present. For example it is thus possible to form geometries in form of excavator blades or the like into a final state with only one method step and subsequent thereto using the produced components according to the invention.

In a further preferred embodiment of the use according to the invention the wear resistant steel component has a hardness of more than 550 HB. Here it is important according to the invention that the unhardened steel sheet is formed with the hot forming method and subsequently press hardened. To date only wear resistant steel components are known from the state-of-the-art which have a hardness of up to 450 HB, wherein these are essentially configured as steel plate or flat steel components. Here the use according to the invention offers in particular the possibility to use complex steel component geometries with higher degrees of hardness.

It is advantageous when at least one continuous through-opening or at least one recess is formed in the steel component in a punching step by means of at least one punching tool. According to a first embodiment it is preferred in this case when the at least one continuous through-opening and/or the at least one recess is introduced into the still hot or at least not yet completely cooled steel component during a time period of the hot forming and/or press hardening. In the case of this first variant it is particularly preferred when the at least one punching tool is removed from the still hot or at least not yet completely cooled steel component again after the punching step. According to a second variant it is preferred when the at least one continuous through-opening and/or the at least one recess is introduced prior to the hot forming.

When a continuous and/or at least one recess is introduced into the wear resistant steel component by the aforementioned punching step, it is particularly advantageous when the at least one continuous through-opening is provided with a slant toward a side face of the steel component or toward both side faces of the steel component with respective slants and/or the at least one recess is provided with a slant. In this case it is especially preferred when the slanting of the at least one continuous through-opening and/or the at least one recess is introduced into the hot or at least not completely cooled steel component during the time period of the hot forming and/or press hardening.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail in a concrete embodiment by way of a drawing. Further goals, advantageous, features and/or applications of the present invention become apparent from the description of the embodiment. All described and/or depicted features represent separately or in combination the subject matter of the present invention, also independent of their combination in the claims or their dependency. It is shown in the FIGURE:

FIG. 1 a perspective view of a share tip of a plough, which is provided with a hole, wherein the hole has a slant toward the concavely bent side face.

In the case of the shown embodiment of the invention, the hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component is used on a plough as share tip 1. The share tip 1 has a concavely curved side face 2. The hole 3 extends through the share tip, wherein the hole 3 was introduced in a punching step by means of at least one punching tool. The punching step is carried out immediately after the hot forming and prior to starting the press hardening. This achieves that the hole 3 is introduced into the still hot steel component. After the punching step, the punching tool is immediately removed again from the still hot steel component, which avoids that the steel component becomes or may become shrunk onto the punching tool.

Toward the concavely curved side face 2 of the steel component the steel component is provided with a slant 4. The slanting of the hole 3 is carried out after the punching step into the still hot steel component.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1—share tip -   2—concavely curved side face -   3—hole -   4—slant 

What is claimed is: 1-9. (canceled)
 10. A hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB for use as steel component in construction machines, said steel component having bending angles of more than 5°.
 11. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 10, wherein the steel component is constructed as one of excavator blade, concrete mixing blade, conveyor screw blade, and transport blade for conveyor systems.
 12. A hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB for use of as steel component in agricultural machines, said steel component having bending angles of more than 5°.
 13. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 12, wherein the steel component is constructed for use in a plough or on cutting devices.
 14. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 13, constructed for use on the plough as share, share tip or share knife, share blade, guiding plate, share foot, holder for a share tip, chisel, furrow breaker, plough foot or plough sole, sole wedge, sole protector, sole block or sole log, coulter, breast board or moldboard or tailpiece, breast board edge or moldboard edge, insert plate, strip or slatted board or stripper or on a cutting device of a harvesting machine as knife or blade.
 15. A hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB for use as steel component in mining devices, said steel component having bending angles of more than 5°.
 16. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 15, wherein the steel component is constructed for use in conveyor components, crushing components or sorting plants.
 17. A hot formed and press hardened, wear resistant steel component with a hardness between 500 and 700 HB for use as steel component in supply, transport, clearing or maintenance devices, preferably in snow ploughs or as share- and/or scraping blade in a snow plough or in a rotary snow plough, or in home-garden-home improvement- or handicraft machines or devices which are exposed to high abrasive wear.
 18. The hot formed and press hardened, wear resistant steel component of claim 10, wherein the steel component is at least partially heat treated.
 19. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 10, wherein the steel component is made of an alloy having one of the following compositions 1-4, with a content of each element in weight percent: Composition 1: 0.2 to 0.4% Carbon (C) 0.3 to 0.8% Silicone (Si) 1.0 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.02% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 2% Copper (Cu) 0.1 to 0.5% Chromium (Cr) max. 2% Nickel (Ni) 0.1 to 1% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.001 to 0.01% Boron (B) 0.01 to 1% Tungsten (W) max. 0.05% Nitrogen (N)

Composition 2: 0.35 to 0.55% Carbon (C) 0.1 to 2.5% Silicone (Si) 0.3 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.05% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.01% Sulfur (S) max 0.08% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.5% Copper (Cu) 0.1 to 2.0% Chromium (Cr) max. 3.0% Nickel (Ni) max. 1.0% Molybdenum (Mo) max. 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.001 to 0.005% Boron (B) 0.01 to 0.08% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.02% Nitrogen (N) max. 0.2% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 3: 0.40 to 0.44% Carbon (C) 0.1 to 0.5% Silicone (Si) 0.5 to 1.2% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.005% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.2% Copper (Cu) 0.3 to 0.8% Chromium (Cr) 1.0 to 2.5% Nickel (Ni) 0.2 to 0.6% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.5 to 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.0015 to 0.005% Boron (B) 0.02 to 0.05% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.015% Nitrogen (N) 0.01 to 0.05% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 4: 0.42 to 0.45% Carbon (C) 0.30 to 0.40% Silicone (Si) 0.80 to 0.90% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.012% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.001% Sulfur (S) 0.020 to 0.050% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.10% Copper (Cu) 0.50 to 0.60% Chromium (Cr) 2.00 to 2.20% Nickel (Ni) 0.45 to 0.59% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.90 to 1.10% Cobalt (Co) 0.002 to 0.004% Boron (B) max. 0.008% Nitrogen (N) 0.015 to 0.025% Titanium (Ti) max. 0.030% Tin (Sn)


20. The hot formed and press hardened steel component of claim 10, wherein the steel component has a hardness of more than 550 HB.
 21. The hot formed and press hardened steel component of claim 12, wherein the steel component is at least partially heat treated.
 22. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 12, wherein the steel component is made of an alloy having one of the following compositions 1-4, with a content of each element in weight percent: Composition 1: 0.2 to 0.4% Carbon (C) 0.3 to 0.8% Silicone (Si) 1.0 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.02% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 2% Copper (Cu) 0.1 to 0.5% Chromium (Cr) max. 2% Nickel (Ni) 0.1 to 1% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.001 to 0.01% Boron (B) 0.01 to 1% Tungsten (W) max. 0.05% Nitrogen (N)

Composition 2:  0.35 to 0.55% Carbon (C)  0.1 to 2.5% Silicone (Si)  0.3 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.05% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.01% Sulfur (S) max 0.08% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.5% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 2.0% Chromium (Cr) max. 3.0% Nickel (Ni) max. 1.0% Molybdenum (Mo) max. 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.001 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.01 to 0.08% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.02% Nitrogen (N) max. 0.2% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 3:  0.40 to 0.44% Carbon (C)   0.1 to 0.5% Silicone (Si)   0.5 to 1.2% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.005% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.2% Copper (Cu)   0.3 to 0.8% Chromium (Cr)   1.0 to 2.5% Nickel (Ni)   0.2 to 0.6% Molybdenum (Mo)   0.5 to 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.0015 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.02 to 0.05% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.015% Nitrogen (N)  0.01 to 0.05% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 4:  0.42 to 0.45% Carbon (C)  0.30 to 0.40% Silicone (Si)  0.80 to 0.90% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.012% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.001% Sulfur (S) 0.020 to 0.050% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.10% Copper (Cu)  0.50 to 0.60% Chromium (Cr)  2.00 to 2.20% Nickel (Ni)  0.45 to 0.59% Molybdenum (Mo)  0.90 to 1.10% Cobalt (Co) 0.002 to 0.004% Boron (B) max. 0.008% Nitrogen (N) 0.015 to 0.025% Titanium (Ti) max. 0.030% Tin (Sn)


23. The hot formed and press hardened steel component of claim 12, wherein the steel component has a hardness of more than 550 HB.
 24. The hot formed and press hardened, wear resistant steel component of claim 15, wherein the steel component is at least partially heat treated.
 25. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 15, wherein the steel component is made of an alloy having one of the following compositions 1-4, with a content of each element in weight percent: Composition 1:  0.2 to 0.4% Carbon (C)  0.3 to 0.8% Silicone (Si)  1.0 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.02% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 2% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 0.5% Chromium (Cr) max. 2% Nickel (Ni)  0.1 to 1% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.001 to 0.01% Boron (B)  0.01 to 1% Tungsten (W) max. 0.05% Nitrogen (N)

Composition 2:  0.35 to 0.55% Carbon (C)  0.1 to 2.5% Silicone (Si)  0.3 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.05% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.01% Sulfur (S) max 0.08% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.5% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 2.0% Chromium (Cr) max. 3.0% Nickel (Ni) max. 1.0% Molybdenum (Mo) max. 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.001 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.01 to 0.08% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.02% Nitrogen (N) max. 0.2% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 3:  0.40 to 0.44% Carbon (C)   0.1 to 0.5% Silicone (Si)   0.5 to 1.2% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.005% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.2% Copper (Cu)   0.3 to 0.8% Chromium (Cr)   1.0 to 2.5% Nickel (Ni)   0.2 to 0.6% Molybdenum (Mo)   0.5 to 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.0015 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.02 to 0.05 Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.015% Nitrogen (N)  0.01 to 0.05% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 4:  0.42 to 0.45% Carbon (C)  0.30 to 0.40% Silicone (Si)  0.80 to 0.90% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.012% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.001% Sulfur (S) 0.020 to 0.050% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.10% Copper (Cu)  0.50 to 0.60% Chromium (Cr)  2.00 to 2.20% Nickel (Ni)  0.45 to 0.59% Molybdenum (Mo)  0.90 to 1.10% Cobalt (Co) 0.002 to 0.004% Boron (B) max. 0.008% Nitrogen (N) 0.015 to 0.025% Titanium (Ti) max. 0.030% Tin (Sn)


26. The hot formed and press hardened steel component of claim 12, wherein the steel component has a hardness of more than 550 HB.
 27. The hot formed and press hardened, wear resistant steel component of claim 17, wherein the steel component is at least partially heat treated.
 28. The hot formed and press hardened wear resistant steel component of claim 17, wherein the steel component is made of an alloy having one of the following compositions 1-4, with a content of each element in weight percent: Composition 1:  0.2 to 0.4% Carbon (C)  0.3 to 0.8% Silicone (Si)  1.0 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.02% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 2% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 0.5% Chromium (Cr) max. 2% Nickel (Ni)  0.1 to 1% Molybdenum (Mo) 0.001 to 0.01% Boron (B)  0.01 to 1% Tungsten (W) max. 0.05% Nitrogen (N)

Composition 2:  0.35 to 0.55% Carbon (C)  0.1 to 2.5% Silicone (Si)  0.3 to 2.5% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.05% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.01% Sulfur (S) max 0.08% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.5% Copper (Cu)  0.1 to 2.0% Chromium (Cr) max. 3.0% Nickel (Ni) max. 1.0% Molybdenum (Mo) max. 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.001 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.01 to 0.08% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.02% Nitrogen (N) max. 0.2% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 3:  0.40 to 0.44% Carbon (C)   0.1 to 0.5% Silicone (Si)   0.5 to 1.2% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.02% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.005% Sulfur (S) max 0.05% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.2% Copper (Cu)   0.3 to 0.8% Chromium (Cr)   1.0 to 2.5% Nickel (Ni)   0.2 to 0.6% Molybdenum (Mo)   0.5 to 2.0% Cobalt (Co) 0.0015 to 0.005% Boron (B)  0.02 to 0.05% Niobium (Nb) max. 0.4% Vanadium (V) max. 0.015% Nitrogen (N)  0.01 to 0.05% Titanium (Ti)

Composition 4:  0.42 to 0.45% Carbon (C)  0.30 to 0.40% Silicone (Si)  0.80 to 0.90% Manganese (Mn) max. 0.012% Phosphorous (P) max. 0.001% Sulfur (S) 0.020 to 0.050% Aluminum (Al) max. 0.10% Copper (Cu)  0.50 to 0.60% Chromium (Cr)  2.00 to 2.20% Nickel (Ni)  0.45 to 0.59% Molybdenum (Mo)  0.90 to 1.10% Cobalt (Co) 0.002 to 0.004% Boron (B) max. 0.008% Nitrogen (N) 0.015 to 0.025% Titanium (Ti) max. 0.030% Tin (Sn)


29. The hot formed and press hardened steel component of claim 17, wherein the steel component has a hardness of more than 550 HB. 